Achieving a Work/Life Balance

For the past year, I’ve felt like the girl who looks like she has everything figured out but really doesn’t.

Apart from knowing I love being creative and I love writing, I’ve never really had my career mapped out. Throughout college and university, I just kind of followed what everyone else was doing but inevitably my heart wasn’t in it. Winging it was my speciality, although it left me with a feeling of constant uncertainty about where I belonged in the working world. Which is why this blog became a bit of a creative refuge for me.

On here I could write about whatever I wanted. I wasn’t being marked on anything and I didn’t have to produce a performance report. When I started blogging in university, where free time far outweighed work time, I had no problems. But when I started working full time, especially in digital marketing & PR, I soon realised that my blog would have to take a backseat if I wanted to be a serious career woman.

I didn’t question it though. After all, I felt so grateful to have landed myself a job straight out of university and being able to bring my knowledge of the blogger world to my job was incredibly satisfying and kept my connection with blogging alive.

But a few years down the line, my blog took an even bigger backseat and I started to feel more and more sad about it. I felt like in order for my blog to be ‘successful’, I had steal focus from my day job and vice versa. Although the more I worked in PR, the more I realised how much of an asset it was to be active within the blogging community.

So a couple of months ago, I decided to act on that feeling of “is this it?”. I packed in my full time job and took steps to having a more flexible working life. I’m now working part-time in marketing, whilst also having two extra days per week to work on blog content and freelance projects. It honestly feels so liberating. I feel like I’m getting back to being myself again, pursuing things that I feel passionate about. I’m pouring some more time & attention into this little space of mine, which is more important to me than I had ever realised before.

I’m definitely still not the girl who has everything all figured out and probably never will be, but I’m so glad I made a change and embraced a more healthy attitude to work for myself. In gaining that extra flexibility, I’m able to appreciate and utilise my ‘free’ time much better than I was before.

If you find yourself relating to some of these feelings, I can really recommend taking some time to think about what it is that drives you. If your current work/life balance is working for you, then great! If not, how can you bring what you love in your personal time back into your day-to-day? For me, that had probably been quite obvious all along, but I’d never really taken the time to question my unhappiness and uncertainty before.

For you, it could mean returning to a hobby you loved when you were younger or finding a new hobby you’ve always wanted to try and making your free time more enjoyable. Or it could be something as simple as making time for exercise or home cooked meals, so you feel more healthy & energised at work and not as drained in your free time.

See the thing is, your career shouldn’t prosper at the expense of your health, relationships or passions. They all need to work together to keep the balance. I’ve seen many smart and wonderful people in my life make these mistakes before and I’m keen to learn from their experiences and not repeat those same mistakes.

Anyway, life update/ramble over! I should probably talk about this bloody amazing outfit from River Island, eh? When they got in touch and asked me to choose some pieces from their AW17 collection, I actually had a really hard time picking my favourite pieces because there was so much absolute GOLD! Their coats & jackets are always amazing, so I had to try and narrow down my options.

After almost going all black everything with this super cosy Faux Leather Aviator Jacket, I ended up choosing the wildcard instead. This Pink Faux Shearling Coat is such a showstopper. I was immediately drawn to its softness and warmth (practical bus-riding gal over here) but it’s also a great statement piece to sass up your outfit. I even had a girl approach me in the park while I was shooting to ask where it was from, which literally never happens to me!

I teamed the coat with a simple & soft rib knit top, black flared jeans and some equally sassy snake print black boots. I am terrible with heels of any height, but these are so perfect. They don’t rub and they’re really easy to walk in, which is everything I look for in a heeled boot. I’m also looking forward to teaming them with more black jeans (shocker) and maybe even some winter dresses & skirts! They also come in gold and red, if you’re a little braver than me.

Shop The Look

How do you achieve a work/life balance? Let me know in the comments below!

Hurray for work/life balance! I’ve been working on this all year and it’s been great to have time dedicated to different projects with quality time to devote to my blog alongside – I’m definitely feeling the benefits in my sleep patterns, general health and wellbeing 🙂

I remember in my earlier PR days I was so impressed by you & all of the other bloggers I worked with that were blending their passion with their work. So if I can be a little more Kate this year, I’ll be more than happy haha! It definitely gives me so much more pleasure and happiness to make the time to craft amazing content for my blog. Here’s to more of it in 2018 🙂

Thanks lovely! It definitely feels like I’ve made a positive step forward, which is good.

Yasmin La Ronde

I think having a work/life balance is crucial nowadays and I like how you’re finding your priorities. I’m think I’m still trying to find my balance, but I love what you’re aiming for. Also, I love the outfit. That coat is just heavenly.

Thanks Yasmin! It certainly is, I felt a bit like I was running myself into the ground so it was so refreshing to take a step back and reassess my priorities. You’ll find yours eventually, sometimes it means making tough decisions and sacrifices, but ultimately only you know what’s best for you.

Oh and the coat is SO cosy, as was the aviator one I tried on. So good for faux fur!

I think I may need to pick your mind about how you took the plunge and how it’s all working for you. While I love my job and working full-time, sometimes I do wish I could lessen it by one day a week so I could focus on my blog. It is just so difficult – especially when my job is in the creative/marketing industry! I’ve often thought about becoming freelance but I literally have no idea what I would actually do. It’s such a minefield, but I imagine it would be pretty rewarding too! Congratulations on taking the step – especially in your new outfit!

I spoke to a few of my friends who were already freelance in the same industry (digital marketing) and picked their brains about the ins and outs. Ultimately it works differently for everyone, but they gave me some great advice. I wanted to dip my toes in first, which is why I’ve found a part time marketing role so I can take on projects more flexibly but still have a solid income. If you want to chat more, feel free to pop me across an email or would be lovely to grab a coffee one day! Although maybe give me until 2018 to have my work life figured out a bit more :’)

Aww thanks mate, I’m trying to be more fashionable :’) glad you liked it! I think when you’re treated badly at work, it really gives you a different perspective and forces you to think about whether you feel fulfilled or not. 2018 is going to be our best year yet, for sure 🙂

I agree with pretty much everything you said here! It’s so important to be happy in your working environment, and not just do what you think you “should be” doing. Well done for taking the plunge for working part time, it sounds like you’re so much happier now! I’d love to do the same one day – fingers crossed xx

Glad you can relate and thank you! I definitely feel like I’ve found more of a balance with work and it’s affecting every bit of my life in a positive way, which is amazing. If it’s something you want, start making the plans and asking questions and scoping it out. It’s more possible than you might think!

That jacket is dreamy! Totally love this post and agree with you – I had a really intense graduate programme after uni where I’d work stupid long hours. I still work full time but I’m now in a company which has much better hours and approach to work life balance! x